Ok, I need some help guys. I'm looking into getting new audio components for my car but I am totally clueless when it comes to car systems.

My starting point is bass. I want bass. Like, the loud, thumping, ghetto blaster style, earth shaking bass you hear when you're pulled up at a stoplight. Coupled with the fact that my stock sound systm is no better than just 'decent', this is why I want new stuff.

So how do I do it?

• Do I need just a subwoofer?
• Do I need new speakers as well?
• Are these the only two substantial parts of a system?
• Where do I put the subwoofer?
• Do I have to buy those felt box things for my trunk if I want to put it there?
• Is it feasible to install this myself or should I get a professional to do it?
• Is installation expensive?

As for the parts themselves, I'm not exactly on a budget but I don't want to spend my entire life savings on a car stereo. I'm looking for quality parts at a reasonable price.

Any specific brand suggestions?

 

Infinity Kappa speakers

 

If you just want raw bass, get something like a 15" sub in a ported box and throw it in the trunk. Next get an amp that will at least power the sub's RMS. After that, you should have that pounding bass you want. Granted, it won't be very clean at all, but I'm sure you'll be setting off alarms in no time.

 

Nah, that's not my sole purpose. I want a clean, functional system.

...

But I wanna be able to crank the **** when needed.

 

go to a local circuit city/good guys and get a known brand(kenwood,xplod,pioneer,etc.) get about a 1000watt amp and 2 12's. mtx subs are good if you get the paper ones(subs made of plastic sound like **** in my opinion)..then you may need a power cap. if you go to the store, you can learn more--just dont buy the first day you see the stuff. pick something you like, then research. i myself have an old alpine amp and 2 infinity 12's. they knock very hard.

 

yea, i have the alpine amp and 2 infinity sub combination. it's kickn ***

now if money doesnt seem to be a problem for you, i REALLY recommend getting a pair of 12" Infinity PERFECT subs. they sound amazing..nad if you do get them, get a good amp too. try going to a local car audio shop, they should know the best.

try giving us specific questions, there's too much to talk about in car audio..good luck man!

 

Okay, so you want bass. Loud bass, that makes the earth move. But you also want clean sound... Get ready for a ride.

List questions in order:
1. You want bass, you need subs. Simple easy fun.
2. You want clean, you neet new speakers. Stock is never going to be able to keep up with the kind of bass you plan on pushing.
3. These are NOT the only 2 substancial parts of a system. You've also got to plan for amplifiers, a headunit, and the most critical of all the installation.
4. Put the sub where you can fit it. When crossed over at a low enough frequency you won't be able to tell where the bass is coming from.
5. You need an enclosure for the sub, unless you purchase freeairs, in which case you'll need a baffle. I wouldn't reccomend prefab boxes though, take some time and make your own. You'll be much happier with the extra money in your pocket and the performance.
6. There's not too much in car audio that is overly hard to install if you're handy. If you feel like you can handle some disassembly of your car, a little light wiring, and some fabrication (the enclosure for the subs... not needed, but you'll like it a lot more) Then go for it. If you feel like you can't handle this, by all means hire a professional. Be sure the person is a genuine professional though, not one of your local BB or CC as they have a real tendency to f things up.
7. You get what you pay for. Quality audio installs come with a big ticket. Shoddy installs charge accordingly.


Now you say "Not exactly on a budget" quickly followed by "Not my entire life savings" so I'm assuming you'd like something that is between $800 and $1500 total system (just parts)? Too high? Too low?

Either way, here's a setup that will slam out some hard, low bass at high volumes, and still sound clean.

• 2 x Adire Audio Tempest 15" subwoofers $150ea
• JBL BP1200.1 $295
• JBL BP80.4 $149
• Infinity KAPPA62.5I $85
• Infinity KAPPA60.5CS $159
• Alpine CDA-9813 $315

This comes to just over $1300 before buying some other important things, such as amp wiring and interconnects, and building the enclosure. But, it will most certainly hang with the best of the street beaters, and would probably come away with a trophy at a local soundoff if the install went well.

Oh yes... I forgot to mention, unless you're into high end gear, you've proably never heard of Adire. Don't worry, they're some of the best in the business. The only thing you may not care for is the fact that it's just a simple black cone with no markings whatsoever. But, this is audio. Sound is the important part right?

 

Wow... spoken like a true professional. You never cease to amaze me Hank

 

Well Kareem... Killing (peoples hearing) is my business, and business is good.

 

It all depends on what your looking for . . . but like cleofis said. go to circuit city, screw bestbuy... circuit city is good and was good to me, i started out with some ****ty subs, some BAZOOKa's and they bumped not bad, but i wanted more, so i moved up to some 2 12" alpine SW-R's, bump hard as hell, but i dotn think they are reaching full potential. As for install, circuit city will do it for you, or you can do it yourself, like you said if you are a newbie at the car audio you may not want to do it yourself, but i was and did it just fine and it works great the hardest part was taking of the dash in my ES. But after that it worked good/went well.

Another reason to check circuit city is because they let me upgrade my subs / return them for better ones every 30 days if i wanted, i went from the bazooka's to the SW-E's to now the ALpine SW-R's... and let me tell u, i only got like 600 watts goign to each one, and it bumps hard as hell, but i think i am selling them soon to a friend who just got his license.

good luck

 

Ah, thanks for all the valueable information!

You have those two amps listed, the JBL BP1200.1 and JBL BP80.4. Can you add those together or something for a high, total combined wattage? Or do I need one for each sub. Also, do I really need the Alpine CDA-9813, or any kind of new reciever (other than my IS300 stock) to make this whole gig work?

 

no, the JBL1200.1 is a ONE CHANNEL AMP hence the .1 A single channel amp is used for subwoofers.

the JBL BP80.4 is a 4 channel amp hence the .4 and this amp would be used for your speakers.

that's why he listed two differnt amps. check out the specs online!

A new headunit would be a good idea, the stock headunit isnt the greatest and upgrading it would be easiest work with..

 

Do you need the Alpine? The simple answer is no. There's no real need. But one of your wants was for clarity and sonic purity (even if you didn't word it that way) and even though you're working with a Lexus, stock head units tend to eat a dick. They also lack preouts which are really nice for running amps, especially the amps listed becuase the JBL's don't run high level inputs.

Bob hit the reason for the 2 amps on the head. The 80.4 is for the mids and highs, where the 1200.1 is for the subs. You can run multiple drivers off a single channel, provided their resistance doesn't become too low for the amp to handle. The JBL is 1 ohm stable though, so this isn't an issue.

My list was only suggestions, you can feel free to adjust them any way you'd like. If you don't like Alpine, oust it and put in what you do like. Don't like Infinity? Good, neither do I. Kick their asses out and get something you like. It's all relative, just pick what sounds good to you. Most of all though, remember car audio is rarely what you actually want the first time... so have fun with it.

 

my advice to you:

do some google searching and learn about car audio. there's plenty of pages out there that have loads of info on how to setup a system, etc. it will be more helpful to learn what you are doing than to just ask what you are going to need.

 

15's will be loud, but two 12's will be cleaner. get two 12 inch 1000watt rms subs (audiobahn or eclipse would be best i think) with two 1000watt rms amps to push em. thats more than enough bass. a aftermarket head unit with that kind of setup is a must. the sound you'll get from the preouts on an aftermarket unit, you'll never get from any type of stock system. when you get an aftermarket head unit, mp3 capability is a plus. you can have like 150 songs on one cd...i love it.

make sure the wiring you get is real real good. for instance, you with a system like i mentioned, you want your power/ground wires to be 1/0 guage, and then like 8 guage running from your amp to box. also have to get a 150 amp fuse and a fuse holder.

as for speakers, get some real nice infinity kappa components for the front, and like some pioneer 3 ways for the back. fronts much more important cuz thats where you drive from.

a custom box would be the best way to go, but if you dont have the time, or money for some shop to do it for you, just get a pre made one. That will have you with an amazingly loud system.